Halcyon superfine grain film developer

[Jay DeFehr]

I've been playing with this formula for a few years, on and off, refining and tweaking here and there, and now it has become my primary developer for all films and formats. The advantage of superfine grain for small formats is obvious, but the advantages for larger formats might be less so. In short, improved scanning benefits any format that is scanned, and those benefits also apply to optical enlarging. Halcyon produces negatives of very high resolution, with extremely fine grain, but best of all, very fine gradation. TMY-2 developed in Halcyon is a dream combination, but it works well with all the films I've tested. Halcyon gives normal development times and full film speed, but tolerates overexposure better than underexposure. As with all superfine grain developers, there is a risk of dichroic fog, so fresh fix should be used as a preventative measure. Halcyon makes possible high enlargement factors without compromising image quality. While the superfine grain is the most obvious characteristic, it is the total image quality package that makes Halcyon my primary developer.

Halcyon

DH2O 750ml
PPD 7g
Sodium Sulfite 50g
Salycylic acid .5g
Ascorbic acid 3.5g
DH2O to 1 liter

Develop TMY-2 7:30, 70F, IA

Halcyon-R

DH2O 750ml
PPD 10g
Sodium sulfite 50g
Salycilic acid .6g
Ascorbic acid 5g
Triethanolamine 10ml
DH2O to 1 liter

Replenish by bleed method, 25-50ml/ roll or equivalent

PPD is toxic, so use appropriate precautions.

[mdm]

I wondered when this one was coming. After posting about it for some time you finally put your bolloks on the block.

[Eric Woodbury]

Jay, you've been spending too much time in the frozen north. But then again, I was looking up DH-20 trying to figure out what that was.

[mdm]

Distilled water, I have no clue what PPD is but that is probably ignorance on my part.

[Jay DeFehr]

David,

I've been tinkering with this developer for a while now, but only recently have I had the feedback of other users. That my own results have been confirmed by others, and requests from many curious about the developer motivated me to post the formula for anyone interested. I think the formula is unique and useful, especially in this era of hybrid film/digital workflows. I also think it's not for the faint of heart, or those unfamiliar with process control, but I'm happy to make the formula known to anyone interested in trying it. I have nothing to lose or to gain by sharing this information.

Eric,

You might be right. DH2O is distilled water, for those who don't recognize the convention.

[Jay DeFehr]

Distilled water, I have no clue what PPD is but that is probably ignorance on my part.

PPD is ParaPhenyleneDiamine

[CG]

Are both variants Halcyon and Halcyon R replenishable with same 25 to 50 ml per roll?

[CG]

And why the relatively slight variation between formulas. Which does what best?

[Jay DeFehr]

Halcyon is the working developer, Halcyon-R is the replenisher.

[archer]

Dear Jay;
can the formula be divided for split development and do you have a formula for using it thus? If not, can you give a starting development time for any of the Efke films or Foma films? It seems like a very interesting developer. I'm anxious to try it. How does it handle highlight values? Does it require -N to control very high values in overexposure?
Denise Libby